FAO and 11 Latin American chefs join forces to raise awareness on food waste

On the occasion of the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), together with 11 chefs from 8 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, launched the #SinDesperdicioChallenge. This social media challenge encourages households to maximize the use of fruits, vegetables, and local foods across the region.

The challenge kicked off on 24 September with Chilean chef Heinz Wuth, known on social media as Ciencia y Cocina, who invited Alfredo Oropeza (Mexico) and Inés Páez, “Chef Tita” (Dominican Republic), to join. Since then, each participant has challenged other colleagues, building a chain of renowned chefs from across the region, including Rodrigo Pacheco, FAO National Goodwill Ambassador (Ecuador), Palmiro Ocampo (Peru), Camila Peñaloza (Chile), as well as members of the collective Un tenedor dorado: Lupita Vidal (Mexico), Pablo Díaz (Guatemala), Catalina Vélez (Colombia), and Marsia Taha and Jairo Michel (Bolivia).

In their dishes, the chefs showed how ingredients such as banana, apple, tomato, carrot, lemon, corn, pumpkin, fish, beans, or avocado —which often end up in the trash— can become the centerpiece of innovative and nutritious meals.

Each year, according to FAO, 1.3 billion tons of food are lost or wasted worldwide, while more than 2.3 billion people face moderate or severe food insecurity. In addition, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), food loss and waste are responsible for between 8% and 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions and consume nearly 30% of the planet’s agricultural land, according to FAO.

Losing or wasting food not only carries social, economic, and environmental consequences: it also means wasting water, soil nutrients, and the labor of those who produce food. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), households account for 60% of global food waste, highlighting the importance of promoting changes in consumption habits.